&nbspReflection: Student Led Inquiry Elizabethan Research, Day 1 (Developing a Research Question) - Section 2: Developing a Research Question

We all know that, in the "real" world, we only look up the things that we want to, or have to, know. Some people are researchers by profession, but most of my students will not take that path. It is our job, as teachers, to train students how to think critically about what they read, but I also want them to know how to figure something out by doing a little research.

The ideal research project, in my opinion, is one that answers a burning question that is keeping a student up at night. However, I think it is safe to say that those questions don't usually fall within the structures of the English curriculum. So, I try to encourage them to research something that interests them within the content area. Take our current topic. Surely there must be SOMETHING that you want to know about Elizabethan England? Rotten meat? Bear-baiting? Pestilence?

::Cue the crickets.::

Part of the problem is that we live in a time wherein you can "know" almost anything in seconds. One google search and you have an answer. It may not be a good or accurate or comprehensive answer, but you have it. You don't have to cull through dozens of sites. And you don't have to think. You really never even have to wonder about anything.

Could this all come back to a deficit of wonder? How do we motivate student-led inquiry if no one ever wonders about anything?

Good question.

Why research?

Student Led Inquiry: Why research?

Elizabethan Research, Day 1 (Developing a Research Question)

Elizabethan Research, Day 1 (Developing a Research Question)

Unit 2: Romeo and Juliet
Lesson 4 of 12

Objective: SWBAT choose a topic and develop a research question related to Elizabethan England.

Big Idea:
A good research question requires PRE-search.

Today's class was dedicated to selecting a research topic and developing a research question. I reserved the computer lab and distributed the handoutwhen we got there. I told students that I would call on them at random (using ClassDojo, an iPad app, but popsicle sticks or slips of paper work, too) and they could choose a general topic from the list provided for research. The only rule was that only two people could do a given topic. (My classes are ~28, so with 20 topics, I am assured some variety.)

I encouraged students to choose topics that actually fall under their areas of interest, explaining that the "easiest" topic is the one that you actually care about.

This process went pretty smoothly, with only a few grumbles from people whose topics were chosen by others before their names were called.

Once the students had topics, I directed them to start doing some PRE-search to see what kind of information was out there. After they browsed and read a bit about their topic, they could then submit a research question for approval.

Resources (1)

Resources

After the students chose their topics, they were supposed to spend the rest of the period looking at information and developing a question. Because many topics were being researched by two students, I explained to students that their research questions had to be different.

The next half hour was pretty interesting.

Even though I had spent some time explaining the assignment and talking about good research questions, some students instantly came up with questions like..."Was food during the Elizabethan Era healthy?" Considering that the final assignment involves an annotated bibliography with 6-10 sources, a visual, and a presentation, one would think that a student would want to spend time THINKING about the question. But, well, let's just say that not everyone took that approach.

Some students took their time and thought carefully about which direction they wanted to go. Others came up to me with so many silly questions that I felt like I was playing Whac-A-Mole. And one student cried because she couldn't think of a question.

By the end of class, everyone had an approved research question, mostly because I had to practically write half of the questions myself. It was not a shining moment in education.

Have you ever had a great idea for a project and then, after you started it, wished that you could rewind the whole day and start again SKIPPING THE PART ABOUT THE PROJECT? Well, that was today.